How to Make Roads With Illustrator CS5

Create your own road in Illustrator.

Although drawing the elements of a road is not difficult in Adobe Illustrator, it can be challenging to get the elements to stay in the correct positions, especially if you want the road to bend. Using the Appearance panel, you can create the appearance of a road that is contained within a single path. This means that all the road elements such as the pavement, lines, and shoulder will adjust together. Once you have the road created, you can add it to a graphic style and quickly turn any path into a road.

Instructions

1. Select the “Line” tool.

2. Double-click on the “Stroke” icon in the tools panel. Change the color to the desired color for the road, most likely black.

3. Click on the “Window” menu and select “Stroke” to open the Stroke panel. Change the “Weight” to 100 pt.

4. Click on the “Window” menu and select “Appearance” to open the Appearance panel.

5. Click on the flyout menu in the Appearance panel. Select “Add New Stroke.”

6. Change the stroke weight to 112 pt. Click on the color drop-down menu. Select a color for the shoulder of the road such as a dark gray.

7. Click on the flyout menu in the Appearance panel. Select “Add New Stroke.”

8. Change the stroke weight to 10 pt. Click on the color drop-down menu. Select a color for the line of the road such as yellow or white.

9. Click on “Stroke” for the 10 pt stroke. Click on the “Dashed Line” checkbox. Enter “80 pt” in the first “Dash” box. Enter “20 pt” in the first “Space” box.

10. Click on the "Window" menu and select "Graphic Styles."

11. Select the path with the road and drag the road into the Graphic Style panel to create a new style.

12. Draw a new path. With the path selected, click on the road style to convert the new path into a road.

References

• Vector Tuts Plus.com; How to Create Roads and Rail Tracks on a Path; Diana Berg; October 2009
• Brochure Website Design.com; Creating Roads and Rail Tracks on a Path;